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Central York students 'drive' texting-while-driving simulator

By TIM STONESIFER Daily Record/Sunday News

Updated:
03/08/2013 11:47:41 PM EST

Freshman Ben Fisher texts and drives at Central York High School on Friday as part of a simulator at the school for the day, sponsored by AT&T. The simulator is meant to show high school students the potential dangers of texting while driving. (YORK DAILY RECORD / SUNDAY NEWS PHOTO -- SONYA PACLOB)

York, PA -

The kid who, moments earlier, had hopped behind the wheel and run down a pedestrian lifted his head long enough to listen to local and state officials, who wanted to tell him what he'd done wrong.

A 14-year-old girl who'd just crashed her car into a tree also looked up, falling silent.

"It seems like just yesterday I was a teenager," state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale told the students gathered at Central York High School Friday morning. "We've all done stupid stuff. But this is a mistake you don't get to come back from."

DePasquale made his remarks beside an AT&T texting-and-driving simulator currently touring central Pennsylvania. It's meant to educate kids on the dangers of distracted driving, something DePasquale has long warned against.

Part of the texting-and-driving simulator set up at Central York High School on Friday is shown, with a video screen showing the driver s progress in the foreground. (YORK DAILY RECORD / SUNDAY NEWS PHOTO -- SONYA PACLOB)

And thankfully, the aforementioned crashes were computer generated.

But the dangers are all too real, according to Rick Guinan, a drivers education instructor at the high school who spoke to his students before Friday's impromptu tests.

It takes about 4 seconds to send the average text message, he told a group of freshman. So, if you're driving 55 mph, how far could you travel without looking at the road?

"Think about driving 100 yards down I-83 blindfolded," Guinan said in answer to his own question, letting the silence grow. "How much damage could you cause?"

Allison Rambler, the girl who'd hit a tree with her car -- a white Fiat perched on padding with wires running out the window to a laptop -- said after her turn that it was tough not to swerve.

She'd tried to text: "Hey, what's going on this weekend?"

She didn't get past the salutation, she said.

"It's harder than I thought it would be," the freshman said.

For Bryan Briggs, a 15-year-old sophomore set to get his permit in April, the exercise brought perspective. Standing beside a poster board where dozens had signed a no-texting pledge, Bryan said that in the simulator he'd only glanced down for a second.

When he looked up, he was on the wrong side of the road. He hit someone.

"I was thinking before that you could be smart about it," he said. "I mean, I have Siri."

Heading back to class, the boy shrugged and smiled, and he said maybe that's still not enough.

@timstonesifer; 771-2032

About the simulator

Students at Central York High School had the opportunity to operate an AT&T texting-while-driving simulator Friday.

The simulator is a computerized system within a real car -- with sensors on the steering wheel and pedals -- that uses a head-mounted virtual reality display to recreate real-life driving scenarios. Those scenarios include pedestrians crossing the street, red lights and cars changing lanes on the road.

Paige Gross, a senior at Central York High School crashes her virtual car on Friday. It s a juggle to do everything, Gross said, after trying to text and drive in the simulator. (YORK DAILY RECORD / SUNDAY NEWS PHOTO -- SONYA PACLOB)

The simulation, which includes instructors telling students to text on a real phone, provides a taste of the complexity and dangers of texting while driving a car.

At the conclusion of each simulation, students are able to view a scorecard showing their performance.

The law

The state's ban on texting while driving went into effect in the spring of last year.

Texting while driving includes sending, reading or writing any text-based message from any sort of interactive wireless device, such as a smartphone, a personal digital assistant, or mobile computer.

Police can pull over any driver for texting while driving. No other offense needs to be committed. The fine is $50.

Officials hope education will result in better compliance, but have admitted the law is difficult to enforce.

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